The Tiruchirapalli City Corporation has planned to establish an integrated market complex at Panchapur on the outskirts of the city to move the wholesale sections of the Gandhi Market.
The recent plans on shifting the onion wholesale market to the Sengulam Colony Market and build some shops for the banana market at Viragupettai overhead water tank complex are only aimed at decongesting the Gandhi Market and easing traffic flow around the market, said Corporation Commissioner V.P. Thandapani here on Tuesday.
“We have drawn up a master plan to create an integrated market complex at Panchapur. However, the project could take about two to two-and-a-half years to come to fruition. In the meantime, the shifting of the onion wholesale market and partial shifting of banana to Viragupettai are interim measures,” he said, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function got up in connection with the World Toilet Day at the Corporation.
The Commissioner’s statement comes in the wake of the disappointment expressed by onion and banana wholesale traders over the civic body’s recent announcement on shifting the onion wholesale market and part of the banana wholesale traders. The traders associations had favoured shifting of the market to an integrated complex.
The corporation move comes following several unsuccessful attempts to identify a suitable site for shifting the wholesale section of Gandhi Market to the outskirts over the past couple of decades.
Just a few months ago, the civic body had announced a plan to shift the onion and banana traders to G. Corner grounds near Golden Rock only to drop it owing to certain legal impediments.
Mr. Thandapani said the proposal to renovate the Gandhi Market, established about 70 years ago, would be executed in three phases. Once renovated, the market spread over about 6.5 acres, could cater to the retail shops. The civic body has also taken up construction of a modern slaughter house behind the market. It has also decided to set up modern fish market one behind the Gandhi Market and the other on the Kuzhumani Road.
“The measures are aimed at easing the traffic congestion around the market pending the establishment of the integrated market complex,” he said.
